Periodic Health Assessment. It's an annual check-up the Army does to ensure that you're still in good working order, all parts are accounted for, and that nothing is broken. I had one earlier this week. The following day, I had a dental exam. Funny part about that is that they had to take my blood pressure at the dental exam. Don't know why. But I got to have my blood pressure checked two days in a row, giving me an idea of what it is.
When I was in Puerto Rico, my blood pressure was running 140 over 90 on average. The Ragin' Mrs. like to joke that Puerto Rico was killing us. We went there looking young for our age, and came back looking old. I went grey while I was there.
Anyways, my medical checkup. Yes. My BP now? 118 over 79. In about three and a half months, I went from having high blood pressure down to normal.
Amazing what happens when you leave a hellhole.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
It's open season...
So declares Detroit-born rock legend, hunter extraordinaire and right-on conservative Ted Nugent...
Uncle Ted hereby declares it is open season on RINOs. No bag limits or permits required.
Rock on, Ted.
Uncle Ted hereby declares it is open season on RINOs. No bag limits or permits required.
Rock on, Ted.
It's that time again
I know the economy sucks.
I know times are rough.
I know that we're all stretching our dollar as far as it can stretch.
I don't care. Go here. Donate. Project Valour-IT is running it's annual fundraiser to provide voice-activated laptops for injured troops. You can pick which team you want to donate to (GO ARMY! BEAT NAVY!) or you can just make a donation to the project itself.
The Leftoids ain't gonna do crap for our boys and girls in uniform, folks. We gotta do it ourselves.
UPDATE: I've added a link to the Valour-IT Army Team on the sidebar. Hit it up, folks! Five dollah, ten dollar, I don't care if it's fifty cents. We need all that we can get.
I know times are rough.
I know that we're all stretching our dollar as far as it can stretch.
I don't care. Go here. Donate. Project Valour-IT is running it's annual fundraiser to provide voice-activated laptops for injured troops. You can pick which team you want to donate to (GO ARMY! BEAT NAVY!) or you can just make a donation to the project itself.
The Leftoids ain't gonna do crap for our boys and girls in uniform, folks. We gotta do it ourselves.
UPDATE: I've added a link to the Valour-IT Army Team on the sidebar. Hit it up, folks! Five dollah, ten dollar, I don't care if it's fifty cents. We need all that we can get.
And since I've linked to Mr. du Toit
I may as well go for the family combo and link to Mrs. du Toit's piece as well. I was a bit hesitant to do so at first, because it's not a post that fills you with joy. But dammit... you don't deal with adversity by trying to hide from it.
The Perfect Storm.
This country officially tipped over the edge when congresscritters were talking about bailing out the catastrophe of their own creation (Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae) using taxpayer dollars. The successive bailouts that are coming are more of the same. They all address the symptoms, not the problem. You don't cure appendicitis by giving the person an asprin and sending them home - you cure it by cutting out the inflamed appendix before it ruptures and kills the person.
The Big Three haven't done that. They've tried to continue as if business is normal. They're just taking the asprin and saying they'll be alright. They've been doing it for decades. Which is why "The Rustbelt" exists, and has done so for decades.
And now this country has voted in a Marxist for President.
Imagine our entire country resembling Detroit. That's where we are headed.
Crap.
The Perfect Storm.
This country officially tipped over the edge when congresscritters were talking about bailing out the catastrophe of their own creation (Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae) using taxpayer dollars. The successive bailouts that are coming are more of the same. They all address the symptoms, not the problem. You don't cure appendicitis by giving the person an asprin and sending them home - you cure it by cutting out the inflamed appendix before it ruptures and kills the person.
The Big Three haven't done that. They've tried to continue as if business is normal. They're just taking the asprin and saying they'll be alright. They've been doing it for decades. Which is why "The Rustbelt" exists, and has done so for decades.
And now this country has voted in a Marxist for President.
Imagine our entire country resembling Detroit. That's where we are headed.
Crap.
Grab-n-Go
If you haven't checked out Kim du Toit's grab-n-go tubs yet, take a look.
This isn't some survivalist horsehocky. There are times, hopefully they never come up, but there are times when you just need to GO! Don't pack a suitcase, don't pass the ATM and collect some cash, just grab what you can carry in two hands and get the hell out of the house. Anything from a natural disaster to civil unrest can force you from your home. OR, force you to stay in your home with little or no help or amenities. If you got hit by some natural disaster, and you had no electricity, no water coming in, what would you do? If you turned on your stove and it didn't work, if you turned the handle on your faucet and nothing came out, what would you do?
You need to be prepared. The wife and I try to be prepared for whatever situation might arise. In Puerto Rico, we had our hurricane supplies. Lots of bottled water, non-perishable food, a generator, a camp shower, and extra gas. If a hurricane hit, we could survive for a month without any outside assistance.
Yes, I know that the chances of going a month without help is slim to none. But we also counted on the fact that we would be helping out anywhere from one to six people as well. I didn't just want to survive a hurricane, I wanted to make sure that my friends survived it as well.
We already have a medical kit that's better stocked that some hospital aid stations. That's due to the fact that both the Ragin' Mrs. and I were deathly afraid of going to the ER in Puerto Rico. If you've ever been there, you know what I mean. If you haven't, just take my word for it. We got used to having a med kit that big, and we just kept it up. We've already taken care of a few minor injuries to the children of some friends of ours. Anyways, it's the largest tackle box we could find, stuffed with bandages, pain relievers, ointments, cold and flu medicine, braces and splints, ect. Short of an amputation or surgery, we can take care of it.
Now that we're settled into the house, the Mrs. and I are turning our attention to our supplies, disaster preparedness, ect. We don't have hurricanes up here, but we do have blizzards and the occasional tornado. So we want to be prepared. We'll be building up a grab-n-go kit of our own, using totes just like the ones shown by Mr. du Toit, only silver. They were originally holding the Mrs. sewing supplies, but her sewing room is set up and we have about ten of them emptied out in the basement. We'll use two of 'em. Blankets, food, ammo, some tools, a tent - once again we'll be able to survive without help for an extended period of time.
Just as importantly, if a friend calls up and says "DAVE! I'm in deep shit and I need help!" I can grab the boxes and drive.
Anyways, go check his stuff out and then start making plans for your own. And might I also recommend stockpiling ammo? With Comrade Obama and his Socialist Congress, there's no telling what's going to happen in the next four years.
This isn't some survivalist horsehocky. There are times, hopefully they never come up, but there are times when you just need to GO! Don't pack a suitcase, don't pass the ATM and collect some cash, just grab what you can carry in two hands and get the hell out of the house. Anything from a natural disaster to civil unrest can force you from your home. OR, force you to stay in your home with little or no help or amenities. If you got hit by some natural disaster, and you had no electricity, no water coming in, what would you do? If you turned on your stove and it didn't work, if you turned the handle on your faucet and nothing came out, what would you do?
You need to be prepared. The wife and I try to be prepared for whatever situation might arise. In Puerto Rico, we had our hurricane supplies. Lots of bottled water, non-perishable food, a generator, a camp shower, and extra gas. If a hurricane hit, we could survive for a month without any outside assistance.
Yes, I know that the chances of going a month without help is slim to none. But we also counted on the fact that we would be helping out anywhere from one to six people as well. I didn't just want to survive a hurricane, I wanted to make sure that my friends survived it as well.
We already have a medical kit that's better stocked that some hospital aid stations. That's due to the fact that both the Ragin' Mrs. and I were deathly afraid of going to the ER in Puerto Rico. If you've ever been there, you know what I mean. If you haven't, just take my word for it. We got used to having a med kit that big, and we just kept it up. We've already taken care of a few minor injuries to the children of some friends of ours. Anyways, it's the largest tackle box we could find, stuffed with bandages, pain relievers, ointments, cold and flu medicine, braces and splints, ect. Short of an amputation or surgery, we can take care of it.
Now that we're settled into the house, the Mrs. and I are turning our attention to our supplies, disaster preparedness, ect. We don't have hurricanes up here, but we do have blizzards and the occasional tornado. So we want to be prepared. We'll be building up a grab-n-go kit of our own, using totes just like the ones shown by Mr. du Toit, only silver. They were originally holding the Mrs. sewing supplies, but her sewing room is set up and we have about ten of them emptied out in the basement. We'll use two of 'em. Blankets, food, ammo, some tools, a tent - once again we'll be able to survive without help for an extended period of time.
Just as importantly, if a friend calls up and says "DAVE! I'm in deep shit and I need help!" I can grab the boxes and drive.
Anyways, go check his stuff out and then start making plans for your own. And might I also recommend stockpiling ammo? With Comrade Obama and his Socialist Congress, there's no telling what's going to happen in the next four years.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Solution for Lyudmilla
So even if this thing shoots straight with the bayonet on it, that's really not an option if I want to go tramping around the woods in these parts hunting Bambi. With the bayonet, this thing measures out to five and a half feet long. I'm only six feet here folks. And it's hard enough for me to tromp through the woods without anything in my hands. The rifle without the bayonet was pushing the limit. Adding the bayonet ain't gonna make things better in that regard.
So, hunting with the bayonet is out. Getting it to sight in without the bayonet would mean moving the front sight post so far to the side that it would be hanging out like a Democrat at the Welfare Office.
BUT.... I's been doing a lil' snoopin' online and stuff.
My solution - a drop-in weaver rail from these guys, with one of these sitting on top of it. The weaver rail replaces the rear sight (just punch the pin out and screw the rail in), and the red-dot scope means I don't have to worry about eye relief and can position my head where ever I need it for a good sight picture.
Is it perfect? No. Does it do what I want it to do? Yes. And with the drop in rail, I can remove it and replace the rear sight anytime I need just an "authentic" rifle. There's no permanent modification I have to do.
And yes, her name is Lyudmilla. Contingent on her being able to shoot with some degree of accuracy at the range.
So, hunting with the bayonet is out. Getting it to sight in without the bayonet would mean moving the front sight post so far to the side that it would be hanging out like a Democrat at the Welfare Office.
BUT.... I's been doing a lil' snoopin' online and stuff.
My solution - a drop-in weaver rail from these guys, with one of these sitting on top of it. The weaver rail replaces the rear sight (just punch the pin out and screw the rail in), and the red-dot scope means I don't have to worry about eye relief and can position my head where ever I need it for a good sight picture.
Is it perfect? No. Does it do what I want it to do? Yes. And with the drop in rail, I can remove it and replace the rear sight anytime I need just an "authentic" rifle. There's no permanent modification I have to do.
And yes, her name is Lyudmilla. Contingent on her being able to shoot with some degree of accuracy at the range.
Amen.
I second the previous emotion.
God bless our veterans, living and dead. (I might be persuaded to exempt John Kerry and John Murtha from that, if you argue well enough.)
God bless those who are currently in military service to our country.
God bless our veterans, living and dead. (I might be persuaded to exempt John Kerry and John Murtha from that, if you argue well enough.)
God bless those who are currently in military service to our country.
They keep smearing what they fear
This is getting ridiculous.
I honestly believe that we could have won if it was Palin/McCain, and not McCain/Palin.
In any case, the smears are going to come piling on just like they have for the past week. Why? Because Liberals fear Palin. They fear what she stands for. They fear what she can do with the Republican Party. They fear her because she basically told modern feminism to suck eggs, and proven that you can run off the Liberal Plantation and make it on your own. And that makes her an apostate to the Left.
And if theRepublican Stupid Party had ANY FUCKING BALLS, they would be defending Palin instead of curled up in a corner crying and sucking their thumb. Fucking Pussies. I'm still wondering why ANY of the party leadership has a job right now. Get rid of them all! Seriously, why the hell do these people still have a job? Do they want to fail? Do they care about the future of this country? Do they want to win elections?
Right now, the answers to those questions as I see it are yes, no, and no.
I expect that the Media will keep the smears up for four years. Fuck 'em. I've seen plenty of people who are actively looking for ways to collapse the media. I want to join in the fun.
So according to the hatchet man/woman who talked to Newsweek, Palin is such an ideologue about drilling in ANWR that she won't stand next to Bradley, even though John McCain has the exact same position?
And Palin is such an ideologue that she won't appear with pro-choice politicians, even though she attended events with pro-choice Clinton donor Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild?
And we're really supposed to believe that Palin is so dumb she doesn't know Africa is a continent, but she knew about the voting records of John Sununu and Jeb Bradley in the first place?
Remember what the traitors and jackals of the Press were chattering about when Palin was first introduced? "OMG! IS SHE A LIABILITY? WHEN IS MCCAIN GOING TO DUMP HER?" They couldn't stand Palin. They still can't. Because Palin represents what the conservatives wanted, not their soft, mushy "moderate" McCain. The whores of the Press loved McCain. Because their Lord and Messiah could beat McCain.I honestly believe that we could have won if it was Palin/McCain, and not McCain/Palin.
In any case, the smears are going to come piling on just like they have for the past week. Why? Because Liberals fear Palin. They fear what she stands for. They fear what she can do with the Republican Party. They fear her because she basically told modern feminism to suck eggs, and proven that you can run off the Liberal Plantation and make it on your own. And that makes her an apostate to the Left.
And if the
Right now, the answers to those questions as I see it are yes, no, and no.
I expect that the Media will keep the smears up for four years. Fuck 'em. I've seen plenty of people who are actively looking for ways to collapse the media. I want to join in the fun.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Gregoire, Part Deux
I think maybe the Democrats just have better lawyers.
Power Line - What's happening in Minnesota? part 4
I don't know what the story is in Two Harbors, but the one Franken bump that is clearly dubious is the 30-plus absentee ballots that a Democrat ostensibly discovered in the back seat of her car. There is no way that should happen. There is, I suspect, much more of the same to come.Ahhh, to be sure.
Power Line - What's happening in Minnesota? part 4
Well, crap!
I took the M-N 91/30 to the range today. I won't regale you with all the details. The bottom line is this: This rifle shoots FOUR INCHES TO THE RIGHT FROM 25 YARDS AWAY.
Crap. FuckshitpissdammitFUCK!
Is there anyone out there familiar with Mosin-Nagants? Am I doing something wrong? Is this a problem that's common with Mosin Nagants?
Gimmie some advice here, folks, before I return this thing. I can't hunt with it if it's this inaccurate. If I can't hit the damn bullseye from 25 yards, I can't hit a deer at 150. I was aiming center mass from a rest, so it wasn't me wobbling. This thing is just off.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Crap. FuckshitpissdammitFUCK!
Is there anyone out there familiar with Mosin-Nagants? Am I doing something wrong? Is this a problem that's common with Mosin Nagants?
Gimmie some advice here, folks, before I return this thing. I can't hunt with it if it's this inaccurate. If I can't hit the damn bullseye from 25 yards, I can't hit a deer at 150. I was aiming center mass from a rest, so it wasn't me wobbling. This thing is just off.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Semper Fi
Today is the Marine Corps birthday.
My father will be off celebrating appropriately, I'm sure. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JARHEADS!
Poll time!
You know, my slim, trim little Russian beauty from yesterday.
If you have any other suggestions, leave them in the comments.
If you have any other suggestions, leave them in the comments.
Save Patrick Fitzgerald
I know, I know, that almost qualifies as heresy after what he did to Scooter Libby.
But think for just a minute here now.
Fitzgerald is the U.S. attorney who nailed O goomba Tony Rezko. He's also in the process of nailing a whole bunch of other corrupt Illinois politicians.
According to the report, the O says Fitzpatrick is gonna stay.
Let's get the ammo ready, just in case he doesn't.
Can you scream "coverup"???
Loudly? Frequently?
Just a little bit of an early warning for y'all.
There are so many potential targets in the future O World that we've gotta be prepared.
But think for just a minute here now.
Fitzgerald is the U.S. attorney who nailed O goomba Tony Rezko. He's also in the process of nailing a whole bunch of other corrupt Illinois politicians.
According to the report, the O says Fitzpatrick is gonna stay.
Let's get the ammo ready, just in case he doesn't.
Can you scream "coverup"???
Loudly? Frequently?
Just a little bit of an early warning for y'all.
There are so many potential targets in the future O World that we've gotta be prepared.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Help me name her
So, my birthday was last month, and I went hunting for a birthday present for myself.
I found one. A rather nice Russian beauty, somewhat aged but still lovely. And the Ragin' Mrs. even said I could bring her home! So I did.
And here she is dressed up with a slim black accessory.
She's a Mosin-Nagant 91/30, in good condition. They had flaming assloads of Mosin-Nagant 44's at the shop, but only one 91/30. I picked up a few 44's, held 'em, aimed 'em, and they just didn't feel right in my hands. Besides, I have a carbine already, a Hungarian SKS with the actual blade bayonet instead of the spike. I wanted a rifle, not a carbine. When I picked this little honey up, she went right to my shoulder and stayed rock solid when I aimed her. (At a stuffed deer, if you must know.)
So I brought her home. She has her own case, her own ammo, her own spot in the section 'o guns, but she doesn't have a name. The Ragin' Mrs. says to name her Olga, but her father is married to an Olga and I really don't know if I want that mental picture in my head every time I take a shot. So I'm using my executive powers and vetoing that name. But what name fits?
Natasha? Titania? Give me some hints, people. My rifle needs a good name!
I found one. A rather nice Russian beauty, somewhat aged but still lovely. And the Ragin' Mrs. even said I could bring her home! So I did.
And here she is dressed up with a slim black accessory.
She's a Mosin-Nagant 91/30, in good condition. They had flaming assloads of Mosin-Nagant 44's at the shop, but only one 91/30. I picked up a few 44's, held 'em, aimed 'em, and they just didn't feel right in my hands. Besides, I have a carbine already, a Hungarian SKS with the actual blade bayonet instead of the spike. I wanted a rifle, not a carbine. When I picked this little honey up, she went right to my shoulder and stayed rock solid when I aimed her. (At a stuffed deer, if you must know.)
So I brought her home. She has her own case, her own ammo, her own spot in the section 'o guns, but she doesn't have a name. The Ragin' Mrs. says to name her Olga, but her father is married to an Olga and I really don't know if I want that mental picture in my head every time I take a shot. So I'm using my executive powers and vetoing that name. But what name fits?
Natasha? Titania? Give me some hints, people. My rifle needs a good name!
Football today
Going over to a friend's house to watch a couple games. Yesterday I was supposed to go to the range, but ended up going over to another friend's house to help them move in. I was the guy carrying stuff up the stairs.
You know, one of these weekends, I'll be able to have it to myself.
I just don't think it'll be anytime soon. And you can be sure that I'll be calling in favors when it's time to remodel the bathroom and/or kitchen.
You know, one of these weekends, I'll be able to have it to myself.
I just don't think it'll be anytime soon. And you can be sure that I'll be calling in favors when it's time to remodel the bathroom and/or kitchen.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
There's SNOW outside!
That might not seem like a big deal to some people, and other folks will probably be cursing about it, but it's been over four years since I've been able to touch actual snow with my hands.
It'll be gone in an hour or so. We just got a little trace amount that stuck, and once it warms up it'll melt. But I took the dog outside for her morning constitutional, and was able to throw a few snowballs.
I'm smiling.
It'll be gone in an hour or so. We just got a little trace amount that stuck, and once it warms up it'll melt. But I took the dog outside for her morning constitutional, and was able to throw a few snowballs.
I'm smiling.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Quid Pro Quo
These are two good synchronized stories:
And then:
Audacious!!!
Interest Groups Spend $98 Million on White House Race
Unions, political action committees and other special interests shelled out nearly $98 million in independent expenditures to influence the presidential election, according to a CQ MoneyLine analysis of campaign finance reports through Nov. 4.
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.
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The groups overwhelmingly favored Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, spending $48 million in his behalf since June, while Republican nominee John McCain was favored with $28 million over the same period.
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Leading the was the Service Employees International Union. It spent more than $28 million, a lot of it going to fund multi-lingual, 30-second spots promoting Obama and railing against McCain's views on economic issues.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/cq/20081107/pl_cq_politics/politics2984285
And then:
Names surface for top Obama administration jobs
President-elect Obama is weighing an array of Washington insiders and outsiders, including some Republicans, for top administration posts, according to Democratic officials.
Obama has signaled that he will make no Cabinet-level appointments immediately, and his deliberations are tightly held by his closest aides. But that hasn't stopped Democrats and interest groups from circulating lists and offering recommendations to the Obama transition team.
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LABOR SECRETARY
Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of House Education and Labor Committee.
Former Rep. David Bonior, member of Obama's Transition Economic Advisory Board.
Andy Stern, president of Service Employees International Union.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081107/ap_on_el_pr/obama_potential_appointees
Audacious!!!
Another right wing wacko emerges
Yep, thanx to SlimyBill, another voice will occasionally contribute to this excellent collection of sanity in a world gone stone freaking mad.
Did anybody notice that even in the madly slanted exit polls, a lot more people describe themselves as conservatives than describe themselves as liberals?
Does anybody else think that we have a road map to victories, if only we draft leadership smart enough to read it and then follow it?
Think about this summer and the one bright light in the current Congress: the house GOP staying on the floor, even with the lights out and the cameras off, to push for an end to the offshore oil drilling ban?
We found out that 70 percent -- that's about 17 percent or so more than elected the O to the presidency -- were with us on that.
Where the hell was the campaign on that, other than Sarah?
Right now is the time to revive "drill here, drill now, pay less."
Newt, are you freaking listening?
Revive it. Beat the drum. Incessantly. Loudly. It's not over yet, but we can't freaking wait.
There are a lot of other issues where we right wing wackos have majority support -- if we can only get the leadership to get off their all-too-comfortable asses and start screaming.
It's going to take a certain discipline which we right wing wackos often lack.
But it's the only way to (1) drive the agenda in the right direction for this great country and (2) expose the fascists who now control the agenda for what they really are.
Let's get it started.
Did anybody notice that even in the madly slanted exit polls, a lot more people describe themselves as conservatives than describe themselves as liberals?
Does anybody else think that we have a road map to victories, if only we draft leadership smart enough to read it and then follow it?
Think about this summer and the one bright light in the current Congress: the house GOP staying on the floor, even with the lights out and the cameras off, to push for an end to the offshore oil drilling ban?
We found out that 70 percent -- that's about 17 percent or so more than elected the O to the presidency -- were with us on that.
Where the hell was the campaign on that, other than Sarah?
Right now is the time to revive "drill here, drill now, pay less."
Newt, are you freaking listening?
Revive it. Beat the drum. Incessantly. Loudly. It's not over yet, but we can't freaking wait.
There are a lot of other issues where we right wing wackos have majority support -- if we can only get the leadership to get off their all-too-comfortable asses and start screaming.
It's going to take a certain discipline which we right wing wackos often lack.
But it's the only way to (1) drive the agenda in the right direction for this great country and (2) expose the fascists who now control the agenda for what they really are.
Let's get it started.
Pontifications
OK, so everyone has finally come out of their post-election hangover. We're looking around at this country and wondering just how the hell we came so far down. When you suffer a defeat, the first thing you need to do is figure out exactly why you lost.
And I'm looking square at the Republican Party.
This isn't a joke. This can't be brushed off. This country has just voted a Marxist into office, given him a Marxist Congress to back him up. Why?
Because the Republican Party did not offer ANYTHING different. Ann Coulter, love her or hate her, offered up one of the best summations of why we lost:
The Republicans nominated a person who has spent the past eight years crapping all over the Republican base. Great idea there, GOP. Way to garner support.
This is a pattern that's continued even after the election. The Republican Elite is now stabbing Sarah Palin in the back, the only real conservative in the election, the only reason that John McCain did as well as he did. Without Palin, McCain might have gotten one or two states. Period. That's it. She was the ONE bright point in this election for the GOP, and now they're turning on her like a pack of hyenas.
If that doesn't tell you just how out of touch the GOP is with conservatives, I don't know what will.
And what message was the GOP sending with this election? What were they trying to tell voters? "Let's keep the status quo." That doesn't work. For the past eight years, Conservatives have watched the Republican Party transform itself from a small-government, anti-corruption group of politicians to a nanny-statist, government expanding, earmark pushing group of corrupt asshats and criminals.
Remember Dennis Hastert standing on Capitol Hill talking about how William "Dollars in my freezer" Jefferson's office was sacrosanct? Yep. Rather than exposing corruption and weeding it out, the GOP WAS PROTECTING IT!
The GOP leadership has failed, in just about every way they possibly COULD fail. And yet they keep pushing the same tired message. Actually, I mis-spoke; they're not pushing ANY real message. And they haven't pushed it for a long time.
It's been conservatives online defending Bush from the deranged attacks of the Left. It's been conservatives pushing the smaller government message, and getting ignored. It's been the GOP base demanding accountability, and getting brushed off by the GOP leaders.
The GOP leadership has failed. Utterly, completely, and horribly failed. John Henke, in the other article I linked to yesterday, put it this way:
You leave. If the GOP refuses to hold to the principals that made it successful in the first place, then they will continue to sink. If the GOP keeps offering up RINOs on the national level, they will continue to lose elections. If the GOP keeps refusing to fight the corruption, the graft, the earmarks, the voter fraud, then they will continue to hemorrhage members until they're nothing but a weak, former shell of themselves.
Second - start at the local level. Find out where your Republican Party meets, and GO! Do networking. Get to know people face to face. Take your arguments to them. The GOP has been ignoring the massive network that was already in place that they could have used. While theDemocrat American Communist Party was working it's internet links for all it was worth, the GOP was wandering around going "Internet? Is that the new typewriter thingy?" There has been absolutely no effort to reach out to the grassroots support the GOP used to have. Now it's time for the Grassroots to take the party over and transform it from INSIDE.
You don't get rid of rot by tossing some shellac over it and calling it good. You cut it out. Carve it out, throw it away, and start rebuilding from the good base.
Third - find some fighters. This ties in with point number one - the GOP has been too much in love with it's political power to risk losing it by standing up and making waves. If the GOP won't do it at the national level, then work locally to find those fighters and promote them. Get them up locally, and then push them up higher. Use your local groups to demand accountability from the national level.
Fourth - tap in to the other conservative movements. Most of those movements are made up of former Republicans, whom the party has cast off in it's lurch leftward. How do I know? Because it's me, and others like me. As I said - I put my RNC membership card through the shredder, and mailed it back to the RNC in their donation begging envelope...... back in 2003, when I was still living in Seattle. The GOP had lost it's way back then, and they've only gotten worse since then. Get those conservatives working together. They might all belong to different parties, but they can work to make the GOP change. I'll be speaking to the local Republicans some time in the future.
As I said yesterday - Yes, the election sucked. Yes, our country is in trouble. Yes, it's going to get worse.
But the only true failure right now is in giving up. And I refuse to do that.
And I'm looking square at the Republican Party.
This isn't a joke. This can't be brushed off. This country has just voted a Marxist into office, given him a Marxist Congress to back him up. Why?
Because the Republican Party did not offer ANYTHING different. Ann Coulter, love her or hate her, offered up one of the best summations of why we lost:
How could Republicans go after B. Hussein Obama (as he is now known) on planning to bankrupt the coal companies when McCain supports the exact same cap and trade policies and earnestly believes in global warming?
How could we go after Obama for his illegal alien aunt and for supporting driver's licenses for illegal aliens when McCain fanatically pushed amnesty along with his good friend Teddy Kennedy?
How could we go after Obama for Jeremiah Wright when McCain denounced any Republicans who did so?
How could we go after Obama for planning to hike taxes on the "rich," when McCain was the only Republican to vote against both of Bush's tax cuts on the grounds that they were tax cuts for the rich?
And why should Republican activists slave away working for McCain when he has personally, viciously attacked: John O'Neill and the Swift Boat Veterans, National Right to Life director Doug Johnson, evangelical pastors Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and John Hagee, various conservative talk radio hosts, the Tennessee Republican Party and on and on and on?
The Republicans nominated a person who has spent the past eight years crapping all over the Republican base. Great idea there, GOP. Way to garner support.
This is a pattern that's continued even after the election. The Republican Elite is now stabbing Sarah Palin in the back, the only real conservative in the election, the only reason that John McCain did as well as he did. Without Palin, McCain might have gotten one or two states. Period. That's it. She was the ONE bright point in this election for the GOP, and now they're turning on her like a pack of hyenas.
If that doesn't tell you just how out of touch the GOP is with conservatives, I don't know what will.
And what message was the GOP sending with this election? What were they trying to tell voters? "Let's keep the status quo." That doesn't work. For the past eight years, Conservatives have watched the Republican Party transform itself from a small-government, anti-corruption group of politicians to a nanny-statist, government expanding, earmark pushing group of corrupt asshats and criminals.
Remember Dennis Hastert standing on Capitol Hill talking about how William "Dollars in my freezer" Jefferson's office was sacrosanct? Yep. Rather than exposing corruption and weeding it out, the GOP WAS PROTECTING IT!
The GOP leadership has failed, in just about every way they possibly COULD fail. And yet they keep pushing the same tired message. Actually, I mis-spoke; they're not pushing ANY real message. And they haven't pushed it for a long time.
It's been conservatives online defending Bush from the deranged attacks of the Left. It's been conservatives pushing the smaller government message, and getting ignored. It's been the GOP base demanding accountability, and getting brushed off by the GOP leaders.
The GOP leadership has failed. Utterly, completely, and horribly failed. John Henke, in the other article I linked to yesterday, put it this way:
The problem is not Republican politicians, although many Republicans politicians are a problem. The problem is not with the basic ideals of limited government and personal freedom, either. The problem is a movement that plays small-ball and cedes responsibility for infrastructure to business interests, leadership that rewards those who make friends rather than waves, an entrenched Party and Movement support system that mostly supports itself, an echo chamber that has rotted our intellect, a grassroots that is ill-equipped to shape the Republican Party, and a Republican Party that has replaced strategy with tactics, substance with marketing.
These problems can be fixed, but the fix is not cosmetic. The rot is deep. We do not need reformation of the Republican Party; we need transformation of the Republican Party. That is going to require fresh blood, new ideas, new infrastructure...and perhaps more than a little time in the wilderness.
Whenever a true conservative runs on a conservative platform, they win. When the GOP puts forth yet another squishy moderate, they lose. When faced with a choice of two big-government nanny-statist assholes, people are going to choose the one who's actually honest about what he'll do. The GOP hasn't been honest about it for a while now.
So, what to do? First, we need to clean house. All you Republicans out there? Start holding your party accountable. Get the leadership removed. You do not keep absolute failures in a leadership position. And if they don't listen to you?You leave. If the GOP refuses to hold to the principals that made it successful in the first place, then they will continue to sink. If the GOP keeps offering up RINOs on the national level, they will continue to lose elections. If the GOP keeps refusing to fight the corruption, the graft, the earmarks, the voter fraud, then they will continue to hemorrhage members until they're nothing but a weak, former shell of themselves.
Second - start at the local level. Find out where your Republican Party meets, and GO! Do networking. Get to know people face to face. Take your arguments to them. The GOP has been ignoring the massive network that was already in place that they could have used. While the
You don't get rid of rot by tossing some shellac over it and calling it good. You cut it out. Carve it out, throw it away, and start rebuilding from the good base.
Third - find some fighters. This ties in with point number one - the GOP has been too much in love with it's political power to risk losing it by standing up and making waves. If the GOP won't do it at the national level, then work locally to find those fighters and promote them. Get them up locally, and then push them up higher. Use your local groups to demand accountability from the national level.
Fourth - tap in to the other conservative movements. Most of those movements are made up of former Republicans, whom the party has cast off in it's lurch leftward. How do I know? Because it's me, and others like me. As I said - I put my RNC membership card through the shredder, and mailed it back to the RNC in their donation begging envelope...... back in 2003, when I was still living in Seattle. The GOP had lost it's way back then, and they've only gotten worse since then. Get those conservatives working together. They might all belong to different parties, but they can work to make the GOP change. I'll be speaking to the local Republicans some time in the future.
As I said yesterday - Yes, the election sucked. Yes, our country is in trouble. Yes, it's going to get worse.
But the only true failure right now is in giving up. And I refuse to do that.
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